The Treasury has slashed the budget of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) by Sh10 billion as the State moves to implement an austerity plan on the expenditures of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the current 2022/2023.
The Treasury cut the budget for the security intelligence from Sh46.127 billion to Sh36.127 billion in the financial year ending June 30.
“The Gross Approved Estimates for the National Intelligence Service during the financial year 2022/23 amounts to Sh46.1 billion for current expenditure. The Estimates have been adjusted to Sh36.1 billion under the financial year 2022/23 Supplementary Estimates No.1 for current expenditure,” the Treasury said in the mini-budget.
“The decrease of Sh10 billion is on account of budget rationalisation.”
The details of the Sh10 billion budget cuts were not disclosed in the supplementary budget as the Treasury only indicated cuts on security intelligence vote.
NIS budgetary spending is not open to public scrutiny. The Treasury did not allocate any money to the spy agency for development in the current financial year.
President William Ruto last year ordered an austerity plan on the expenditures of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the current 2022/2023.
The austerity measure has largely targeted the entire budget on foreign travel, training, and purchases of furniture and motor vehicles.
The Cabinet last week endorsed the proposed fiscal consolidation arguing it was key to rationalising the national debt and making it more sustainable.
President Ruto has since taking over office focused on bringing the recurrent expenditure down in the financial year starting July 1, in a bid to achieve a recurrent budget surplus by the third year.
Recurrent expenditure usually includes civil servant salaries, domestic and foreign interest payments, pensions, and fuel costs for the government fleet of vehicles.
An earlier schedule by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u showed that 100 percent of the remaining balances on foreign travel, training, and motor vehicle and furniture purchase budgets as of September 30, 2022, have been cut.
